DNDi's interventions (posted here following delivery):
Agenda item 16.2: Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
We congratulate Member States on the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement, and for their leadership and commitment to reaching this important milestone.
While the text reflects the outcome of extensive negotiations and compromise, it nonetheless contains important provisions that should be swiftly actioned—particularly those related to research and development and production of health products.
We especially commend Article 9.5, which commits Member States to develop policies regarding conditionalities on public funding for R&D. This is a groundbreaking step that requires governments to have policies that help ensure public investments translate into equitable access to health products.
But the real work begins now. Ratification is essential—but action should not wait. DNDi urges Member States to immediately implement this provision and leverage their public investments to drive innovation that serves public health needs and delivers access for all.
Agenda item 13.3: Universal health coverage
Universal health coverage must prioritize vulnerable populations, including those affected by neglected tropical diseases, which impact 1.62 billion people globally. Current health tools for these diseases often have serious limitations and high costs that impede disease control.
Research and development can support UHC by creating affordable, effective health tools tailored to patient needs and suitable for primary healthcare settings. Examples include oral treatments and simple diagnostic tests.
To address unmet needs and leave no one behind, Member States should ensure that the agenda of the 2027 UN High Level Meeting on UHC includes biomedical innovation, delivery of essential health tools, and opportunities for synergies and integration across R&D and access programmes for various diseases.
13.4: Skin diseases
DNDi supports the resolution on skin diseases. Over 10% of skin diseases are classified as NTDs. Skin NTDs disproportionately impact underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries and cause serious physical, mental, and social harm—yet detection remains limited and many treatments are outdated or toxic.
We welcome the resolution’s focus on R&D and access to missing health tools. However, the commercial R&D system continues to neglect skin NTDs, leaving critical needs unmet. Without government action, this will not change. Governments must drive innovation through collaborative models that prioritize patient needs and build local capacity.
Equally crucial is the role of domestic leadership and regional collaboration. Initiatives like the Memorandum of Understanding signed this week by nine African countries on visceral leishmaniasis elimination demonstrate the power of coordinated, cross-border efforts. National political commitment is vital—through integrating skin NTDs into health plans, ensuring domestic and international resource allocation, and training frontline health workers to improve early detection and care at the community level.
13.9: Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
Member States committed to support R&D to address the unmet needs of children and pregnant or lactating women in the WHA77 resolution ‘Accelerate progress towards reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.1 and 3.2’. Action is required to realize this commitment.
Children require specific formulations of drugs, which are often delayed, if developed at all. Knowledge gaps exist on the impacts of medicines on females, especially those who are or may become pregnant or are lactating, as they are often excluded from research, causing delays in access to treatment.
We urge Member States to support strategies to include women and children early in drug development to meet their health needs. Support is also needed for the implementation of the newly launched GAP-f five-year strategy, referenced in the progress report, to ensure that safe, effective, quality, and affordable paediatric formulations are developed and made available to children.
18.3: Climate change and health
We support Member States’ commitment to promote R&D to detect, prevent, test, and treat climate-sensitive diseases through the Climate Change and Health resolution and support the reiteration of this commitment in the Global Plan of Action.
Inadequate investment in R&D for climate-sensitive infectious diseases, including many NTDs, threatens the world’s ability to adapt to climate change. Development, availability, and equitable access to medicines, diagnostics, and vaccines is vital for adaptation and building resilient health systems.
To operationalize the commitment, we ask Member States to support development of a list of region-specific yet globally relevant climate-sensitive diseases, promote research on the links between climate change and NTDs, invest in R&D for new tools to tackle infectious diseases, and support the development of indicators on climate-sensitive diseases as part of the 14th GPW, GpoA, and Global Goal on Adaptation.
15: Antimicrobial resistance
We welcome the report and process underway to update the Global Action Plan, while noting with concern the challenges hindering an effective response. The global pipeline for antibiotics remains nearly empty—therefore we must not only discover new antibiotics but optimize existing ones. We must also ensure there is evidence and appropriate formulations to provide children and babies with timely treatment.
And we must overcome the crisis of access to antibiotics affecting low- and middle-income countries. New GARDP research from a study of eight LMICs showed that only 6.9% of carbapenem-resistant gram-negative infections had potentially appropriate antibiotics available.
We urge Member States to not lose sight of the short- and long-term consequences of AMR and to commit the resources needed to address this challenge comprehensively and globally.
